Fire escape attachment for ladders



G. NAAB FIRE ESCAPE ATTACHMENT FOR LADDERS Filed Oct. -6, 1941 A'rrugNiYs Patented ar. 16, 1943 OFZFIQZE.

FIRE ESCAPE ATTACHIVIENI FOR LADDERS George Naab, Atlanta, Ga., assignor to Henry N aab, Atlanta, Ga.

Application October 6, 1941, Serial No. 413,849

Claims.

This invention relates to fire escapes, and its general object is to provide a portable escape device that is designed for attachment to a fire ladder to be carried thereby as regular equipment for a fire truck, so that when the ladder is raised relative to a building, the device is put into use to rescue persons from the building, and such can be accomplished in an easy, expeditious and safe manner, in that the device includes a basket for receiving a person or persons and which is connected to the ladder through the medium of cables that are wound about a drum for raising and lowering the basket, thus my device eliminates the present dangerous practice of an inexperienced person endeavoring to descend the ladder or being carried down the same.

A further object is to provide a fire escape device that includes a basket connected to a ladder by cables in a manner, so that the basket is maintained in spaced relation to the building during the descent thereof.

Another object is to provide a fire escape device in which the descent of the basket is controlled by a, friction brake and ratchet means is provided to prevent retrograde rotation of the drum,

thus eliminating any possibility of the basket becoming out of control and casually falling.

A still further object is to provide a fire escape device that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and extremely eflicient in operation, use and service.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure l is a side View of my escape device attached to a fire ladder of the extension type, and illustrates the position assumed by the basket relative to a building when partially or completely lowered.

Figure 2 is a rear View of Figure 1, with the basket in the full line position of that figure.

Referring to the drawing in detail, it will be noted that I have illustrated my device as being attached to a two section extension ladder, but it can be attached to a ladder having any number of sections. In any event, the base or lower section of the ladder shown is indicated by the latter A and the upper section B is slidably connected to the lower section by the usual collars C. A handled drum D is mounted on the lower section and has a cable E wound about the same, the cable being trained about a roller F adjacent the upper end of the lower section and the cable has its outer end connected to the lower rung of the upper section to bring about raising of the upper section, a will be apparent.

My device includes a winch and the drum l thereof is provided with a shaft that is mounted for rotation in substantially V-shaped frame brackets 2 which are fixed to the lower portion of the lower section A, as best shown in Figure l, for disposal of the drum on the inner side of the ladder. Secured to and wound about the drum I is a pair of cables 3 that are trained about pule leys 4 connected to the lower section above the drum I, in close proximity thereto, but a sufficient distance therefrom to prevent the basket 5 from contacting the drum, and the pulleys 4 are preferably connected to one of the rungs of the lower section, as shown. From the pulleys 4, the cables are trained about pulleys .6 that are connected to the basket. From the pulleys 6, the cables are trained about pulleys i that are connected to the uppermost rung of the upper section, and the outer ends of the cables are connected to the basket, as best shown in Figure 2.

The basket 5 is made of any suitable material, such as fireproof canvas, to render the same collapsible so that it can be folded to take up minimum space when the ladder is positioned on the fire truck. The basket is formed to provide front, rear, bottom and side walls, and the front wall which is directed toward the building, when the device is inuse, as shown in Figure 1, is of less height than that of the rear wall to facilitate a person stepping within the basket, as will be apparent. The side walls extend above the front and rear walls and are curved downwardly and forwardly toward the front wall, and the upwardly extending portions of the side walls, which are indicated by the reference numeral 8 are of substantially triangular shape, as shown in Figure l. Secured to and bridging the upper ends of the upper portions 8 is a rod 9 that has the pulleys 6 secured thereto, as well as the outer ends of the cables, as clearly shown in Figure 2.

The brake for controlling the descent of the basket includes a disk shaped drum member In that is fixed to the shaft of the cable drum I, and surrounding the member H3 is a band II that is normally expanded to allow free rotation of the cable drum. A hand lever I2 is provided for drawing the band H about the member 10 to brake the drum, and the lever is pivotally mounted in a bracket that is secured to one side member of the lower section of the ladder, the lever having its head laterally directed from its pivot bearing and one end of the band is secured to the laterally directed portion of the head, while the other end of the band is secured to lugs I3 extending from the head.

In order to hold the cable drum l against retrograde rotation, so that the basket can be suspended in space relative to a window against any possibility of casually falling, I provide a ratchet wheel I l that is fixed to the shaft and cooperating with the ratchet wheel is a spring pressed dog pivoted to a hand lever I5 and is normally held in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel, but is movable out of engagement therewith by an operating rod l6 that is connected to the dog and a gripping member I1.

When the ladder and escape device is not in use, it is obvious that they are mounted on a fire truck, and the basket is preferably arranged at the end of the ladder which constitutes the upper end thereof when the ladder is raised in position for use, as shown in Figure 1. By disposing the basket accordingly, it will be obvious that it will be in position for immediate use when the ladder is raised.

From the above description and disclosure in the drawing, it is believed that the operation of the device will be obvious, but it might be mentioned that in view of the fact that the basket 5 is initially arranged adjacent the upper end of the ladder, and assuming that it is aligned with a window to bring about the rescue of a person, the person merely steps into the basket and the added weight of the person to the basket, will result in the latter descending to the ground, the descent being controlled by the brake, and of course, it will be understood that the dog is held out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 14, to allow the basket to drop. A further rescue is accomplished by raising the basket, and such is brought about by winding the cables 3 about the drum I, through the medium of hand wheels i8 that are fixed to the ends of the drum shaft, the wheels having handles l9 secured to and extending outwardly and laterally therefrom, as best shown in Figure 2.

Due to the arrangement of the pulleys and particularly the pulleys 4 with respect to the drum I, it will be noted from Figure 1 that the basket is maintained spaced from the side of the building, so as to clear the same, as shown in full lines in that figure, and just prior to the time the basket reaches the ground, it is moved outwardly a considerable distance from the building, as shown in dotted lines, so that ample space will be provided between the basket and the building to allow a person to step from the basket.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A fire escape attachment for a ladder, comprising a winch including a drum mounted for rotation at the lower portion of the ladder, pulleys secured to the ladder in close proximity to the drum and above the same, pulleys secured to the ladder adjacent the upper end thereof, a basket, pulleys secured to the basket, cables having one of their ends secured to the drum and their opposite ends secured to the basket, and said cables being trained about said pulleys.

2. A fire escape attachment for a ladder, comprising a winch including a drum mounted for rotation at the lower portion of the ladder, pulleys secured to the ladder in close proximity to the drum and above the same, pulleys secured to the ladder adjacent the upper end thereof, a basket, pulleys secured to the basket, cables having one of their ends secured to the drum and their opposite ends secured to the basket, said cables being trained about said pulleys, handle means for rotating the drum, braking means for the drum, and ratchet means to hold the drum against retrograde rotation.

3. A fire escape attachment for a ladder, comprising a winch including a pair of brackets secured to the ladder adjacent the lower end thereof, a shaft journaled in the brackets, a cable drum secured to the shaft for disposal between the brackets, pulleys secured to a rung of the ladder in close proximity to the drum and above the same, pulleys secured to the upper rung of the ladder, a basket, pulleys secured to the basket, cables having one of their ends secured to the drum and their opposite ends secured to the basket, said cables being trained about the pulleys, a disk shaped brake drum member fixed to the shaft, a handled friction band surrounding the brake drum in normal spaced relation thereto and movable in engagement therewith for braking the cable drum, a ratchet wheel secured to the shaft, a spring pressed dog normally engaged with the teeth of the ratchet wheel, a handle having the dog connected thereto for moving the dog out of engagement with said teeth, and handled wheels fixed to the ends of the shaft for rotating the drum.

4. A fire escape attachment for a ladder, comprising a winch including a drum mounted for rotation at the lower portion of the ladder, pulleys secured to the ladder in close proximity to the drum and above the same, pulleys secured to the ladder adjacent the upper end thereof, a basket formed from collapsible fireproof material and including bottom, front, rear and side walls, the front wall being of less height than the rear wall, the side walls having substantially triangular shaped upper portions and curved downwardly to the front wall, a rod secured to and bridging said upper portions, pulleys secured to the rod, cables having one of their ends secured to the drum and the opposite ends secured to the rod, and said cables being trained about said pulleys.

5. A fire escape attachment for a ladder, comprising a winch including a drum mounted for rotation at the lower portion of the ladder, a pulley secured to the ladder above the drum and in close proximity thereto, a pulley secured to the ladder adjacent to the upper end thereof, a basket, a pulley secured to the upper end of the basket, and a cable having one end secured to the drum and passing upwardly over the pulley carried by the ladder and under the pulley carried by the basket and upwardly over the pulley carried by the upper end of the ladder and downwardly and its end attached to the basket.

GEORGE NAAB. 

